Sony Pictures have Record Profits

[Dreyfus]

www.cinematical.com/2006/12/07/sony-pictures-has-record-year/

Sony Pictures announced Thursday that for the first time, they will exceed $3 billion in worldwide ticket sales this year. This isn't any kind of record, though; other studios have surpassed the $3 billion mark before (three times before, in fact), but it's still good news for Sony -- and it is only one aspect of their amazing year at the box office. Their domestic take for 2006 is expected to pass the industry record of $1.573 million, an amount and record they reached back in 2002, for any studio in a single year. Another industry record they've already broken this year is for the number of releases to open at #1. So far, this number is 12, but Sony still has two more titles (The Holiday and The Pursuit of Happyness) to release before the year ends.

For the third time in the past five years, Sony will likely finish out the year with the greatest domestic market share for box office gross. The major contributor to Sony's success in 2006 was The Da Vinci Code, which had an international gross of more than $750 million. Other titles that helped out include Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Casino Royale and, surprisingly, The Pink Panther (hey, that's two remakes that originally starred Peter Sellers!).

Overall 2006 has been a seemingly good year for the motion picture industry, especially considering all the commotion last year over the "Great 'Slump' of '05". And yet, according to Box Office Mojo the total domestic gross for all movies in 2006 is right now $500 million less than the total of 2005 -- though some reports say that this year is up 4% over last year (not a big deal since '05 was down 6% from '04). Thankfully, B.O.M. has a handy YTD comparison, so we can actually see how 2006 stands so far against the same point in years '02 thru '05, and comparatively we're experiencing maybe only the third best year in five. We still have a few weeks left until the year closes, and a lot of movies are coming out in those few weeks, so the final tally could possibly outdo 2004's or 2003's grosses, but I wouldn't bet on it.

[Clouseau]

good find... here's the press release about it...
www.moviecitynews.com/Notepad/2006/061207_pr.html

SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT REACHES $3 BILLION
AT WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE FOR THE FIRST TIME

Milestone is Only The Fourth Time in Motion Picture History
Any Studio Reaches More Than $3 Billion Globally

SPE Sets New Studio High for International B.O.;
Studio is on Pace to Pass Industry-Wide Domestic Box-Office Record

(CULVER CITY, California, December 7, 2006) – For the first time in its history, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) will exceed more than $3 billion in worldwide ticket sales tomorrow, December 8th, it was announced by Jeff Blake, chairman, worldwide marketing and distribution for the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group and vice chairman of SPE. This milestone achievement, reached with three weeks still to go in 2006, marks just the fourth time in motion picture history that any studio has reached the $3 billion mark in a single year.

Internationally, the studio has already realized its best year of all time, with just under $1.5 billion and counting. Domestically, the studio has already passed more than $1.5 billion and is on pace to surpass $1.573 billion, the most any studio has ever generated at the box office in a single year in North America, a record held by Sony since 2002.

2006 marks the third time in the past five years that SPE has been the #1 studio in domestic market share. As Sony finishes the year, the studio controls over 18% of all tickets sold in the United States and Canada. Led by The DaVinci Code the worldwide blockbuster that has grossed over $750 million at the box office, SPE has seen four films exceed more than $100 million in domestic box office – including Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Click, The DaVinci Code and Casino Royale – and five more have surpassed the $100 million worldwide threshold (Pink Panther, Monster House, Open Season, Underworld: Evolution, and Little Man).

Commenting on the announcement, Blake said, “This is the kind of year that is pretty hard to top. Hitting $3 billion in worldwide box office is an incredible accomplishment in every way. The fact that we are reaching this peak by potentially passing the domestic industry box office record while at the same time enjoying our best year ever internationally is just a staggering achievement that makes us all very proud. This isn’t the result of just one film – our entire slate really worked this year, and credit for our success goes first and foremost to the extraordinary filmmakers and actors that brought us The DaVinci Code, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Click, Casino Royale, The Pink Panther, Underworld: Evolution, Monster House, Open Season, and so many others.”

Blake also credited “the remarkable talent and hard work exhibited by our production, marketing, and distribution teams. Today, we’re celebrating and thanking everyone who played a part in the success of our 2006 slate worldwide.”

The studio reached its landmark achievement in a year that featured a record 12 films opening at #1 and strong performances from all the labels under the Sony Pictures Entertainment banner: Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, Revolution Studios, TriStar Pictures, and co-productions in association with MGM.

SPE’s year began with Screen Gems’ Underworld: Evolution, which topped the box office and went on to gross more than $100 million worldwide. Two weeks later, Screen Gems’ When a Stranger Calls debuted at #1, followed by Columbia’s comedy The Pink Panther, which grossed over $150 million worldwide. In late April, TriStar delivered the horror hit Silent Hill, which opened #1 and went on to take in nearly $100 million worldwide, and the following week, the Robin Williams comedy RV led all releases in its first weekend and proved to have long legs at the box office by continuing to perform solidly throughout the summer, reaching $70 million domestically.

In May, Columbia produced its biggest smash hit of the year: The DaVinci Code. The highly anticipated film delivered on every level, opening to $77 million domestically, reaching $217 million in the U.S. and an additional $538 million internationally – becoming the highest-grossing international blockbuster in Columbia’s history. The studio’s success continued throughout the summer, as the comedies Click and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby both opened #1 and saw strong returns at the nation’s ticket booths. Also, contributing to the studio's success this summer was the animated hit Monster House, which took in more than $135 million worldwide.

Heading into the fall, the studio added three more #1 openings. First came Columbia’s Gridiron Gang, followed by the animated hit Open Season, the first film from Sony Pictures Animation, which has grossed more than $160 million worldwide, and Columbia’s The Grudge 2. Most recently, Columbia released the 21st James Bond adventure Casino Royale to more than $40 million – and the film has surpassed more than $300 million worldwide after just three weeks in release.

SPE reaches the $3 billion mark with two films yet to debut in 2006: the romantic comedy The Holiday, in theaters tomorrow and The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith, set for December 15.


About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at www.sonypictures.com.

[Clouseau]

rather than give this next article its own thread, i think i'll make this thread the official "Sony's record year in 2006" thread...
www.moviecitynews.com/Notepad/2006/061217_pr.html

SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT BREAKS ALL-TIME MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY DOMESTIC BOX-OFFICE RECORD

Studio Ends Remarkable Year by Passing $1.573 Billion at Domestic Box Office


(CULVER CITY, California, December 17, 2006) – With this weekend’s #1 release of The Pursuit of Happyness, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s box office receipts for 2006 have passed $1.573 billion, setting a new motion picture industry record for domestic box-office in a single year, it was announced today by Jeff Blake, chairman, worldwide marketing and distribution for the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group and vice chairman of SPE. In passing the industry record, which Sony set in 2002, the studio caps an extraordinary year in which SPE released a record-breaking 13 #1 films. The studio also launched 13 films to opening weekends of more than $20 M, another industry record, and surpassed more than $3 billion in global ticket sales for the first time. Sony Pictures now holds the top two years in the all-time domestic box office record books.

Commenting on the achievement, Blake said, “We’ve set a bar that will be challenging for us – or any studio – to top; this has been an enormous year by anyone’s definition. We successfully launched our animation division and we handled nearly every genre of movie, from broad comedies to family films, emotional dramas to event tentpoles. This kind of year is only possible when everyone is working at the top of their game, and our filmmakers really delivered exceptional product this year.”

In addition to crediting the actors, producers and filmmakers behind Sony’s 2006 slate of 27 motion pictures, Blake said, ‘this year is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of the studio's production, marketing, and distribution teams who break their backs to bring it home year after year. But particular credit is deserved by our presidents of production Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, president of marketing Valerie Van Galder, our president of creative advertising Josh Goldstine, our president of domestic distribution Rory Bruer, and the leadership of Michael Lynton. Of course, none of this dream slate comes together without Amy Pascal, who has been one of the most successful studio leaders in the history of our company.”

2006 marks the third time in the past five years that SPE has been #1 studio in domestic market share. As Sony finishes the year, the studio controls over 18% of all tickets sold in the United States and Canada. Led by The Da Vinci Code, the worldwide blockbuster that has grossed over $750 million at the box office, SPE has seen four films open to more than $40 million in the US and Canada; ultimately, each exceeded more than $100 million in domestic box office – including Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Click, The DaVinci Code,and Casino Royale. In addition, a record 13 films opened to more than $20 million – smashing the old record of 8 films, set in 2004 by Sony and Universal.

Other highlights of the 2006 slate include Pink Panther, Open Season, Monster House, R.V., Gridiron Gang, The Holiday, Silent Hill, Underworld: Evolution, and When A Stranger Calls, among others.


About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at www.sonypictures.com.